Mexican newspaper owner gunned down in Quintana Roo

New York, December 24, 2009—José Alberto Velázquez López, owner of the Mexican newspaper Expresiones de Tulum in the southeastern state of Quintana Roo, died late Tuesday after being shot in his car by a gunman aboard a motorcycle, according to local news reports. Mexican authorities must swiftly investigate this crime and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Shortly after Velázquez left a Christmas party for the
newspaper staff, two men on a motorcycle came alongside his car and one of them
fired a pistol, hitting Velázquez twice, the paper’s deputy editor, Luis Gamboa,
told CPJ. Gravely wounded, Velázquez was transferred to a hospital in Cancún
where he died late at night, the local press said.

Gamboa said the paper had received several anonymous phone
calls threatening death in the last several months and that its printing press was
firebombed in November. According to Gamboa, Velázquez, who was also a lawyer,
had written several articles accusing Tulum Mayor Marciano Dzul Caamal of
corruption, bad administration, and disdain for the public. After receiving the
death threats, including an alleged phone call in which the mayor threatened
him, Velázquez stopped reporting on local politics, Gamboa said.

Both Gamboa and Eugenio Morelos Valdovinos, the general
manager of the newspaper, said they believed the journalist’s murder is linked
to his criticism of local authorities. Morelos told CPJ that it is well-known
in Tulum that the mayor and Velázquez were enemies. Morelos said the problems between
the two began in April, the month the newspaper started printing and the mayor
took office. Mayor Dzul could not immediately be reached for comment.

“We are deeply disturbed by the murder of José Alberto
Velázquez López,” said Carlos Lauría, CPJ’s senior program coordinator for the Americas.
“Given the journalist’s critical reporting on local government, federal
authorities must cooperate with state prosecutors, conduct a thorough
investigation, and bring those responsible to justice.”

Morelos said he filed a police complaint on the firebomb attack
but that the investigation remained stalled. State prosecutors in Quintana Roo
have opened an inquiry, according to local news reports. CPJ continues to
investigate whether Velázaquez’s death was linked to his work as a journalist.

Mexico
is one of the most dangerous countries for the press, CPJ research shows. Since
1992, 41 journalists, including Velázquez, have been killed in Mexico. At least 17 were slain in
direct reprisal for their work. Eight journalists have disappeared since
2005. Most covered organized crime or government corruption.